Auxiliary steering device for vessels.



- A. MCDOUGALL.

AUXILIARY STEERING DEVICE FOR VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15. I915.

1,1 99,803. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

I be A TTORNEY.

ALEXANDER McDOUGALL, or DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

AUXILIARY STEERING DEVICE FOR VESSELS.

" To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MCDOU- GALL,a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of-St.vLoui-s and StatelofMinnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Auxiliary Steering Devices for Vessels, of which the Ifollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawing.

This invention consists of certain improvements 1n auxiliary steermgdevices for vessels and relates particularly to such means for use inconnection with vessels such as canal boats and the like and especiallyin large vessels where it is necessary to make sharp and crampedmaneuvers of same, or as means for steering the vessel in the event ofher rudder being disabled while at sea.

It is now customary to construct vessels as long and large aspossible.to obtain a maximum carrying capacity, and in many cases suchvessels when navigating restricted waters, such as canals, narrowchannels, and docking slips, become unwieldy and hard to manipulate tobest advantage, as

heretofore the only means of steering is at the stern, and with myauxiliary steering device applied, both ends of the vessel becomereadily manageable.

A further object is to provide such a device that can be readily broughtinto action when needed or stored away within the vessel and offerlittle or no obstruction whatever to the,- customary navigation of thevessel.

In the accompanying drawings forming;

part of this application and in which like reference characters indicatelike parts,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragmental side plating 'ofsame, thevessel being of metal construction,,as is common in the art. 4represents the stem of the vessel, against the sides of which theplating 2 and 3 is securely riveted, and against which plating,

longitudinally the sides of the stem, I propose'to securely fastentheangle bars 5.5, they extending the full length'of the stem, or not, asdesired. These;;,bars extend for-' wardly a short distance "beyond thestem,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 0013.3, 1916.

Application filed November 15, 1915. Serial No. 61,498.

tongue 9 which is designed to engage the I dovetail channel 7 of thestem, forms the 'guiding member of the steering device. This frame atits upper end is securely fastened to the housing 10 which contains the,

motors 11-11 that drive the propellers 12-12, the latter being journaledupon the shaft 12' within the housing 13, securely fastened to theopposite end of the guiding frame 8. Screw threaded pipes '14 and 15form tubular connections between the housings lOand 13 and are sopositioned there with as to provide suitable conduits for the /sprocketchain 16 which transmits power from the motors to the propeller shaft12.

Any suitable form of sprocket wheel 17 is mounted upon the motor shaftand conveys power through the chain 16 toa similarly suitable sprocketwheel not shown, mounted upon the propeller shaft 12.- The motor housing10 is thus supported some.

distance above the propellers to provide means whereby the latter may besubmerged without the former being subjected to the action of the water.However the whole device is supposed to be water tight and enabled towithstand any adverse action of same. A more simple embodiment of thedevice might result in mounting the motor directly upon the propellershaft or at least much closer thereto-than illustrated, Such departurehowever, would be considered within the scope of the invention and Iprefer the construction as illustrated, and while I have shown twinelectric motors 1111 as a convenient form of powe'r;-it is understoodthat a single motor might be used if preferred, or that certain forms ofinternal combustion engines or other motors could be made to perform thesame functions, without departing from the invention. When the electricmotor is employed, the device may be readily controlled by the pilotofthe vessel or by one located at any place desired on the vessel whichmakes elecv tric power especially applicable for the purpose. Thepropellers-are designed to be 01)- erated "in either-direction bymanipulation of the motor and are .both fixed to the shaft -1919 ofwhich are pivotally mounted at 20-20 upon the deck of the vessel and asuitable tackle 21 suspends the steering device from the free end of theshears, said tackle being manipulated in any desired manner from thedeck of the vessel, and the shears may be controlled with any form oftackle desired, as suggested in dotted lines 22, or other means ofraising or lowering the device may be resorted to. I prefer to,-form apocket within the bow of the vessel by suitable thwartship walls 23 and24, there beinga suitable hatch within the deck of the vessel foraccessto the pocket. Thus the steering device in its entirety may be quicklyraised and put into the pocket and the shears lowered upon the deck toform as little obstruction as possible, or when being used as a steeringmechanism, the shears may be allowed to remain flat upon the deck andstill form no obstruction Thus I have provided simple and comparativelyinexpensive means for the suc-' cessful control of thebow of the vessellaterally and yet one that altersto a very small degree the customaryconstruction of a vessel, and one'that may be applied to most any formof vessel now in use.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and, desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is' v l. Ina device ofthe character described,

the combination with a vessel having a vertical channel in the stemthereof, of a propelling mechanism removably engaged within the channel,a pocket within the bow of the vessel andshear legs uponthe deck of thevessel whereby the propelling mechanism may be either adjusted to thestem of the vessel or stowed away in thepocket;

2. A device of the character" described comprisinga vessel, a verticallydisposed I pocket in the bow of the vessel, a' shear leg derrickpivotally attached to the deck of the I vessel aft of the pocket and.extendible beyond the stem of thevessel, and a portable motor drivenpropeller made applicable to the stem of the vessel and suspended fromthe derrick whereby the propeller may either be applied to the stem ofor stowed away in the pocket.

3. In a flush decked vessel having a verthe vessel .tically disposedcompartment in the bow thereof and a vertical stem, of a derrick pivotedto the deck abaft the pocket and removably carrying upon its free end amotor latter may be suspended for action and in engagement with the stemWhile the derrick remains flat on deck for passing under bridges or thelike.

4. The combination with a vessel, of a shear legged derrick pivoted uponthe deck of the vessel and extendible beyond the stem thereof, and amotor driven steeringpropeller suspended from the free end of thederrick and in engagement/With theWater when the derrick is restinghorizontally upon the deck as and for'vthe purpose described.

5. In combination with the bow of a vessel having a vertical stem with adovetailed channel therein, a motor driven propelling mechanismhaving-means for engaging the 6. In combination with the bowof a vesselhaving a vertically disposed pocket therein and a vertical stem with adovetailed channeltherein, a motor driven propelling mechanismhaving-means for engaging the channel and embracing the stem andslidable vertically thereupon and a derrick upon the deck of the vesselfor suspendingthe propelling mechanism while in action or placing itinto the pocket. v

7. An auxiliary steering device for vessels having a vertical stem,comprising means for slidably engaging the stem, a motor housing rigidlyfixed to the upper end of said stem engaging means, a motor within thehousing, a propeller shaft housing fixed to the lower end of said means,a shaft within said last named housing, a propeller upon said shaft,means for transmitting motion from the motor to the propeller shaft,'and a derrick upon the deck of the I ALEXANDER MGDOUGALL.

Witnesses'v AC. DUNN, S. Gno. STEVENS-e

